Monday, April 28, 2003

YAHOO! ACQUITTED OF CRIMINAL VIOLATIONS IN FRANCE

April 28, 2003In This Newsletter:

MARK LITWAK TO TEACH FILMMAKER SELF-DEFENSE AT UCLA

Mark Litwak will be teaching "Self-Defense for Independent Filmmakers: Protecting Your Legal Rights" on May 3-4, 2003 at UCLA. Mark will teach filmmakers how to anticipate problems before they arise in their negotiations with production and distribution companies. He will also discuss how to create incentives to encourage the companies to live up to their agreements, including performance incentives, default penalties, and arbitration clauses. In the event of an unresolvable dispute, participants learn what remedies are available to enforce their rights.To register, call 310- 825-9971 or enroll online at: http://www.uclaextension.org/

YAHOO! ACQUITTED OF CRIMINAL VIOLATIONS IN FRANCE

In a case that helps define jurisdiction in suits brought in one country against websites hosted in another country, a Paris court has acquitted Yahoo! of criminal charges of exhibiting and justifying crimes against humanity.

At issue was whether Yahoo could be held criminally liable for hosting websites that sold Nazi memorabilia. These websites were hosted on servers in the United States. French law prohibits “justifying war crimes” and “exhibiting a uniform, insignia or emblem of a person guilty of crimes against humanity.”

A Paris judge ruled that Yahoo did not did not glorify, praise or at least present the crimes in question favorably simply by allowing Nazi memorabilia to be sold from websites it hosted, and therefore acquitted the company.

Yahoo’s French web-hosting service never allowed the violation of French law, and Yahoo now maintains a global policy prohibiting the sale of Nazi memorabilia from websites it hosts.

CHRISTOPHER VOGLER TO LEAD SCREENWRITER’S WORKSHOP

Christopher Vogler, author of The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers, will discuss his latest ideas about myths, movies, and the deep structure of storytelling for the screen during a two-day workshop held May 10 and 11 in Los Angeles.The workshop will examine new maps of story structure for a changing audience, new concepts for troubleshooting story, character and structure problems, and ways in which to develop literary works and plays into coherent movies with broad appeal.To register visit http://www.hollywoodfilmfestival.com/vogler.

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About Me

A veteran entertainment lawyer, arbitrator, expert witness and author, Mark Litwak has provided legal services or acted as a producer rep on more than 100 feature films. He is the author of 6 books including: Reel Power, Dealmaking in the Film and Television Industry (winner of the 1995 Kraszna-Krausz Book Award), Contracts for the Film and Television Industry, and Risky Business: Financing and Distributing Independent Film. He is also the author of the popular CD-ROM Movie Magic Contracts.
As a law professor, he currently teaches at the U.S.C. School of Law, and has previously taught at the Univ. of Puget Sound and Loyola Law Schools. He has been on the faculty at UCLA for 24 years. He has lectured for the American, California and Texas bar associations. A frequent speaker, he has lectured at many universities including Harvard, the American Film Institute, Columbia University and NYU. He has also presented movie industry seminars in England, Australia, South Africa and Canada.
Mark Litwak is AV®
Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubble and has been named a Superlawyer multiple times by the publishers of Law and Politics Magazine.